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Extending a seam allowance 1. Sew Reseaming with %-in. seam allowance. 2. Place tape Ysin. from seam and straight stitch close to tape edge, Reshaping with seams 1. Pinch out excess, Ys in, 3.ligzag over bath tape and wool to reinforce, "'-Front Gannent alignment When doing many alterations to one garment, it is important to recheck the set of the center-back and shoulder seams on the person being fitted after making any major change. If you are fitting yourself, this can be done with a little patience. I usually pin fit the jacket at the nape of the neck, center-back waist, and hip; and by using two mirrors, I can often tell whether the center back is straight and in place. After adjusting the garment so that it hangs evenly, I check the shoulder seams. Are they straight? Are they where I want them to be for my design? The shoulder seams on Betsy's jacket an- gled unattractively to the back, which created a sloping shoulder. We took in the shoulder seam from the front, changing the angle of the front seamline, which also raised the drooping waist and low armscye. Taking shoulders in is not always a simple matter of taking in the seam equally from front and back. You may have to experiment to find out which angle looks best. When resewing shoulder seams in an already-made garment, open the seam only to within 1/2 in. of the neckline and sew, tapering the seam to that point. With the shoulders resewn, double-check the garment's hang. Then go ahead and sew the new side and center-back seams. and there is no turning back. As the photo (above) of Betsy's jacket shows, the garment has a redefined shape; it sits well and feels comfortable at the shoulders. Now the real fun begins. By 74 this time you are completely launched 2. Open seam; cut off excess fabric from back panel, 3. Use original seamlina for front, new seamlina for back. Jacket front alteration As with many endeavors, ours grew the more we worked. The changes to the back, while fine, did not make all the problems go away, nor did they entirely relieve the tightness across the chest. We checked at the front dart seams, but they had been cut open and clipped, so we couldn't use that fabric to gain inches. To extend the front and hide the un- wanted buttonholes, we turned again to our purchased fabric. I try to avoid making changes to the lapels, to preserve the detailing and hand shaping. Any changes to the front should be approached carefully. Think and design before taking any part of the lapel apart. We designed our additions by cutting scraps of fabric in a variety of shapes and pinning them to the front to discover what might be pleasing. With Betsy's jacket, we decided to leave the hem down to gain length, recut the lower front line in a sweeping arc, and add fabric along the front edges that would taper to a %-in. binding at the hemline. When changing the shape of the fl'ont, cut only the jacket front, not the facing; you'll probably need its full width to reshape later. See the drawing and photo on the facing page. Depending on its size and shape, a front extension can be sandwiched between the front and facing, or appliquect. Open the front lapel/facing seam only as far as necessary to accomplish the intended design. To applique the extension, lay the right side of the new piece against the wrong side of the jacket front and stitch together. Press and fold the fabric to the jacket right side and With the shoulder seam relocated, the shell is beginning to shape up. Now it's time to play with the details. Embellishments for the top collar and pockets are cut from new fabric and pinned in place. How will the sweeping curve in the fronts be edged? pin in place for final shaping. Before completing the applique, jacket inside out. Now is the time to shape the facing and pin it to the addjtion on the inside. Since we are worlung with a very malle.c'1ble Harris tweed, some pinning, hand maneuvering, plus a wet pressing cloth hun the this. If your fablic is a worsted, you may have to him as well. On the light side, pin under the seam allowance along the addition edge and put the jacket on for yet another look. I don't stitch the fi'ont facing or edges yet; there are still a few decisions to make. will accomplish In the beginning, one of our ideas was to do something with the pockets, possibly alter the flap shape or eliminate it. Of course, now we wanted to add some of the new fabric to the collar, as well as trim and reshape the upper breast pocket, details shown on the facing page. We went back to our cutout fabric shapes Designing details to test our ideas, and came up with the pocket design. Making patterns for top and bottom flaps is easy. Just trace around the fabric shapes you like, adding 1/4-in. seam allowances when you cut. Before removing the paper patterns, use them to wrap (and press) the seam allowances around, except where they will be inserted. Working from the outside, open the seam holding the pocket nap and remove it. Save it; you may need the fabric later. Try not to disturb the welt. To minimize the difl'iculty of attaching the new appliquect "flaps," I do it entirely by hand, as shown on the facing page, center. c> Threa쎁౟ Maga쎁 ine